New Accidental Shooter On The Block

[susieqz]

by the way, that's a serious question. i wanna know.
i assume practicing at 7 yards is some kinda combat shooting, but at 7 yards i just can't picture anyone having time to use sights.

 

[Plan2Live]

At the risk of drifting off topic l'll answer the question but this really needs to be a separate thread. I train mostly at 3 to 7 yards because I believe in most cases it will be hard to identify a threat and intent further out than that. Inside 7 yards it is mostly instinctual aiming, at 7 I usually use some variation of the Dot Torture drill but will sometimes slow down and shoot sheer accuracy just for fun. Besides, if I can shoot clover leafs at 7 I can hold decent groups beyond that distance should the need ever arise.

 

[susieqz]

thank you, plan.

 

[mooosie]

Why would you make a gun foolproof , do you intend to arm fools!

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

You can with practice.

With practice you can theoretically shoot coins out of the air with a rifle over your shoulder using a mirror to aim.

The question is what can you do with the raw material you recruit + training time and budget. So far safe-action triggers have been a big success in increasing officer accuracy without spending more time or money on training.

It seems to me that one of the issues here is cops that are accustomed to "staging" a long, heavy DA pull in order to get acceptable accuracy are finding that a problem with safe-action triggers.

 

[susieqz]

the thing is, bart, the raw material is the limiting factor.
cops that think they can shoot but can't.
i have lost count of how many times i've read about cops shooting themselves in the leg.
this simply couldn't happen to me, or to most people here.
i shoot 1000 rounds/month n never had an accidental discharge.
many cops just don't seem interested in guns , except when they wanna play cowboy.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Military or LEO either one, I've certainly run into no small number of people who regarded their firearms as a tool they were issued to do the job and had about the same curiosity and interest in it as they did their Skillcraft pen or their uniform.

I think that is one factor firearms enthusiasts often miss when assessing the utility of a particular firearm in government service.

 

[susieqz]

once you assume that mindset, which implies zero interest in training, the best firearm question becomes moot.
there is no way to make any gun safe in the absence of interest and training.

the flip side is that most any gun would be reasonably safe if sufficient training was mandated.
and paid for.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

there is no way to make any gun safe in the absence of interest and training.

True; but there is a way to minimize the effects of negligence in the absence of interest and training. Sadly, that is where many agencies are at these days.

 

[susieqz]

i could drop those accidental discharges close to zero. unfortunately i seem to be the only one on the continent that believes speed isn't that important. everyone has grown up on cowboy movies where the fastest draw always wins.
i don't ever carry a round in the chamber. even when a rattler strikes at me i have to draw the weapon, chamber a round, then fire.
this slows everything down enow that i kill with the first shot, even when i think i'm gonna die.
my first shot is slow but i don't need another.
cops should not be allowed to carry a chambered round but no one will ever buy that.
it works tho.
the last rattler that struck at me hit the fence over my waist. that close to the heart means death, but
he missed. i didn't.

 

[X-Rap]

You've got by pretty lucky with the snakes, how many have struck at you and missed?
That's not sound tactics for the street, poor old snake is trying to defend himself, the thug you meet will have worse intentions if he is shooting your way.
Guns are dangerous, it's what makes them so effective.

 

[susieqz]

a mere gunshot wound to the torso is survivable. a snake bite in the same place isn't. a bite on an arm or leg is a week in the hospital. a bite close to the heart is death. mostly, i kill them before they strike.

yup. i didn't expect anyone to agree with me.
but, i have been faced with death n my gun saved me.
have you?

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

cops should not be allowed to carry a chambered round but no one will ever buy that.

Well, the days of me taking you seriously are coming to a middle.

Luckily when you are out fighting rattlers you have the opportunity to use both of your hands and don't have to control/fight off someone/ haven't already been shot through the hands - because all of those events aren't uncommon when you are attacked by a human vs. a snake.

I think perhaps you may be extrapolating more broadly than the situation warrants.

 

[BLB68]

but, i have been faced with death n my gun saved me.
have you?

No, and you haven't either. The snake missed. You didn't dodge it. Also, see above regarding an arm being taken out of the fight. If you didn't avoid the snake sneaking up on you, what makes you think you'll have time to act if ambushed by a criminal?

 

[susieqz]

as i said, bart. i knew no one would agree with me.
i know of no way to test this.
what i do know is that i don't wanna be anywhere near some cop that has drawn his weapon.
i have had a great deal of professional contact with big city police. i know what they are. i am not inclined to trust them in general, let alone when firearms are involved.
i hope other departments are better but i only had lots of contact with one agency. so, my beliefs are only certain about one department.
probably many organizations are just fine.

 

[susieqz]

blb, i see you have little experience with rattlers. i bet you think they always rattle before they strike.
or perhaps you think they make lots of noise when they move?
this one happened to be aggressive. my gun did save me because it was gathering for another strike.
my neighbor lived here all his life but after 60 years, he ended up in the hospital for a week.
you are a fool n i sure hope you live in a city where you can be protected.
you would not last long on a ranch.

 

[X-Rap]

You got any bears where you live? Some good discussion on them too. As for watching to many westerns, I'm inclined to say that you might have seen your share as well with all this shooting snakes and saving lives.
I won't speak for all but when it comes to snakes I have two weapons I draw upon far more often than a gun, 1. my legs backing me the heck away from it 2. that #2 shovel that I've mentioned. That's not to say that if I'm out trying to start a ruckus with one I won't shoot it as a challenge but hands down if I'm walking through the shadow of the valley of snakes I'm carrying something with a 4' handle.
You should not take offense since you stated that you'd virtually wipe out ND/AD's with this wonderful idea but you neglected to consider how many would be shot because they were packing an empty gun. Something else to think about while your out in your snake pit. How will you load the gun if one of those snakes lands a bite on your hand?

 

[Walkalong]

Well, this has drifted way off topic, and as posted, is already under discussion.